City Seeks Authority to Fire Teachers for Sexual Misconduct

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants a faster way to fire school employees for sexual misconduct with students, the latest response to a series of arrests of school workers earlier this year.

The mayor on Tuesday said he is pushing state lawmakers to pass a bill giving districts, not outside arbitrators, the final say on punishments for school employees. The employees would still be able to appeal in court.

State Sen. Stephen Saland will sponsor the legislation in Albany’s Republican-controlled upper chamber, but the Bloomberg administration doesn’t yet have a sponsor in the Assembly, which is controlled by Democrats.